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He’s the mouthpiece of the Argonauts’ linebacking core, the only group defensive co-ordinator Chris Jones was able to keep together from last season.

But when Isaac is off the field, you’ll have better luck locating him by looking for Jones.

The impact player has embraced a leadership role on the Toronto defence early in the season, and appears to be settling into a go-between role for Jones and his charges.

“We just try to mingle about things and try to figure them out, how we can help our team win ball games,” Isaac said of the role. “If it takes me going to talk to him and talking to the other guys or being loud, or doing whatever I’ve got to do, it’s my job.”

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The defence will have to be on the same page Thursday night when the league’s only 2-0 team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, roll into town.

Isaac and his defence gave up 24 points in their loss to the B.C. Lions in a short week, including 103 rushing yards and one touchdown to running back Andrew Harris, who was named the CFL’s Canadian player of the week on Tuesday.

The Boatmen will have an even tougher test against Kory Sheets, who ran over the Calgary Stampeders’ defence in the second half last week to finish the game with 133 yards rushing and a touchdown — a performance Isaac is well aware of.

“I think he’s a phenomenal running back,” Isaac said. “To me he’s the best in the business, but we’ve got to get after him. We got to hit him hard and let him know we’re going to be there.”

Thursday will undoubtedly be a chess match between Riders offensive co-ordinator George Cortez and Jones. While Cortez’s head coaching experiment was short-lived in Hamilton last season, his return to offensive co-ordinator has sparked a Riders team that Argos head coach Scott Milanovich has a lot of respect for.

“They’re a good team, I thought they were a good team last year, they were just a hair away from putting it together,” Milanovich said after Tuesday’s practice in Oakville. “I think they’re well coached. They seem to be gelling early.”

The Argos are a different story. What seemed to be an offence in rhythm in Week 1 at home showed exactly the opposite in Week 2 on the road.

“We had too many two-and-outs. . . . We were slow, we couldn’t get any momentum going,” Milanovich said.

Pivot Ricky Ray was forced to throw into a lot of checkdown passes against the Lions, something Milanovich puts on himself.

“It’s because his primary read’s not getting open,” he said. “We have to do a better job as coaches.”

NOTES: Receiver Dontrelle Inman was a late scratch against B.C., but took snaps with the first team Tuesday. . . . Punter/kicker Noel Prefontaine was not at Argos practice Tuesday. The team says it was a maintenance day for the 39-year-old, who arrived on the practice roster at the end of camp, but was pushed into action when Swayze Waters went down with a groin injury kicking the ball in Week 1.

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